Floor inlet nozzle construction for suction trunk on traveling cleaner



Nov. 1, 1966 ING JR 3,281,886

J. F. K FLOOR INLET NOZZLE CONSTRUCTION FOR SUCTION TRUNK ON TRAVELING CLEANER Filed March 6, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN VENTOR JQJ'TIQS F, kmg, w W W QW MWAW ATTORNEY Nov l, 1966 .1. F. KING, JR 3,281,886 FLOOR INLET NOZZLE CONSTRUCTION FOR SUCTION TRUNK ON TRAVELING CLEANER Filed March 6, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l 1' 7 I N N w m INVENTOR 1 James F K1165 BY JQU'AW 60% RD PQJQN ATTORNEY S United States Patent 3,281,836 FLUOR INLET NOZZLE CGNSTRUCTION FOR SUCTION TRUNK 0N TRAVELING CLEANER James F. King, J12, Winston-Salem, N.C., assignor to The Bahnson Company, Winston-Salem, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Mar. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 349,941 3 Claims. (Cl. 15-420) The present invention relates to traveling cleaners of the type designed for use in conjunction with textile machinery and more particularly spinning frames and the like, which are arranged in rows along the mill floor. The traveling cleaners run on rails located at a level above the spinning frames and move longitudinally along them for the purpose of removing lint which has a tendency to collect on various parts of the frame as well as on the floor in the aisle areas and beneath the frames.

Traveling cleaners of the type referred to are in com men use and include various arrangements of flexible suction and blow-off trunks which depend at opposite sides of the frame from an overhead traveling carriage.

The present invention is directed specifically to an improved construction for the flexible suction trunk and more particularly to the construction of the bottom end of the trunk which terminates in a nozzle near the mill floor, that functions as a fioor sweeper to remove by suction such lint and other matter as may tend to accumulate on the floor along the path of the cleaner.

One of the main problems in operating a suction trunk of the type referred to is the likelihood of the floor nozzle moving into such a close relation with the floor that air delivery into the nozzle will be severely diminished resulting in poor cleaning efficiency. Thus, a principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved con struction for the bottom, nozzle part of the suction trunk which will assure full flow of air into and through the nozzle at all times.

Another problem is that the bottom, nozzle part of the trunk often comes into contact with obstructions along its path. The improved nozzle structure according to the present invention which features a minimum number of lightweight parts makes it possible for the bottom part of the suction trunk to more easily slide around or over any obstructions which may be encountered along its path of movement down the aisle between adjacent rows of ma chines.

Another feature of the improved construction is a cylindrical suction nozzle adjacent the floor that results in a very high air intake factor and thus assures a cone spondingly high efficiency in removing lint from the floor. A further feature of the cylindrical nozzle is that its walls are cut away in arch fashion in diametrically opposite positions in order to widen the suction zone in a direction transverse of the direction of travel of the cleaner. Moreover, the nozzle structure is completely flexible in all directions in order to enable it to better absorb shock loads without suffering permanent deformation.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of dual, durable, easily replaceable slides or drags on the nozzle which form wear surfaces since they contact the floor of the mill.

The foregoing as well as other objects and advantages inherent in the invention Will become more apparent from the following detailed description of one suitable embodiment and the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in elevation of the lower part of the suction trunk with the improved floor nozzle structure;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but taken at a right angle thereto;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section, drawn to an enlarged scale to better illustrate the manner in which the suction nozzle 3,281,886 Patented Nov. 1, 1966 is secured in place on the lower end of the suction trunk, the View being taken on line 33 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section through the lower part of the suction trunk and the cylindrical part of the suction nozzle; and

FIG. 5 is a view in perspective of the suction nozzle itself.

With reference now to the drawings, the suction trunk is designated in general by numeral 1. This trunk is adapted to be supported in a vertical, dependent manner for movement along the side of a spinning frame or a similar textile machine by an overhead traveling carriage, and one suitable arrangement is more particularly disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 315,515 filed October 11, 1963, now Patent No. 3,245,103. For this reason, the upper part of the trunk by which it is attached to the traveling carriage has not been included in the drawings for the present application, since it is not essential to an understanding of the invention.

As will be evident from the drawings, the trunk is comprised of a cylindrical tube made from a suitable flexible fabric 2 and which is reinforced by a built-in helically running wire 3. A protective sleeve or skirt 4 surrounds the reinforced tube 2 and the bottom of the latter terminates in the nozzle assembly, the particulars of which form the subject matter of the present invention. The skirt 4, which extends from the level indicated in the drawings to approximately 45" above the floor F, is preferably included for the purpose of smoothing the outer surface of the reinforced tube 2 so as to enable it to slide more easily over obstructions than would be the case were the ribs resulting from the helical wire reinforcement to be directly exposed.

The essentially floor level suction nozzle proper is constituted by a generally cylindrical body 5 preferably made from nylon. The nylon body 5 can, if desired, be molded to its desired cylindrical configuration, or it can be made by rolling into cylindrical form from thick nylon sheet, the two edges forming the seam being overlapped and riveted together at 6. This nylon cylinder 5 is then inserted approximately 2" into the lower end of the suction tube 2. Nylon strip 7 is then wrapped helically around the outside of tube 2 in the spaces between adjacent turns of the reinforcing wire helix 3, and rivets 8 are then inserted through the nylon strip 7, fabric tube 2 and nylon nozzle cylinder 5 in order to securely attach nozzle 5 onto the lower end of tube 2.

In order to always assure a free flow of air into the nozzle 5 and upwardly through tube 2, the wall of the nozzle is cut away in arch fashion at 5a, and 5b which lie at diametrically opposite positions, and this also serves to widen the suction zone in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of the cleaner far beyond the diameter of the trunk itself. The arched portions 5a, 5b will be so oriented that they respectively face towards and away from the spinning frame.

By constructing the entire nozzle body 5 from nylon, or a similar non-rigid material, it is completely flexible in all directions and hence can absorb shock loads due to rough usage at floor level without suffering any permanent deformation.

The nozzle body 5 is preferably also provided with dual, oppositely disposed, renewable slides or drags 9 which form wear surfaces since they at most times drag the floor of the room. The drags 9 are also preferably made from nylon and are secured to the lower end of the nozzle body 5 at the front and rear sides thereof as related to the direction of travel of the suction trunk along the spinning frame. Thus the drags 9 will lie at right angles to the arched portions 511, 5b of the nozzle body.

Each drag 9 is comprised of a lower rectangularly configured wear body part 9a and an upwardly extending triangular shaped ear 9b which lies along the inner face of the nozzle body 5 and is secured in place by means of a bolt and nut attachment 10. Each drag also includes a horizontal slot 90 at the upper end of the wear part 9a which receives the lower edge portion 5c of the nozzle body. The drags can be replaced in a simple manner, whenever necessary, merely by unfastening the bolts 10, removing the old drag and installing the new one.

In conclusion, it is to be understood that while I have described and illustrated one suitable embodiment of my improved nozzle structure for the suction trunk of a traveling cleaner, various modifications may be made therein with respect to the construction and arrangement of its component parts without, however, departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. For use in a traveling cleaner of the type including a depending suction trunk arranged to travel along the side of one or more textile working machines such as spinning frames and the like disposed in a row, and wherein said suction trunk is constituted by a cylindrical tube of fabric reinforced by a helically extending reinforcing wire, the combination with said trunk of a suction intake nozzle located at the lower end of said trunk adjacent the floor for floor sweeping, said nozzle being comprised of a generally cylindrical body of relatively flexible material having the upper part thereof inserted into said wire reinforced fabric tube, a band of flexible material placed helically about the lower end of said fabric tube on the outside thereof between adjacent turns of said helical reinforcing wire, securing means such as rivets extending through said band, fabric tube and nozzle body for securing the latter onto the lower end of said tube, the wall portions of said cylindrical nozzle body being removed at opposite sides thereof facing respectively towards and away from the side of the spinning frame so as to enlarge the intake area of the nozzle, and floor drags secured respectively to the remaining wall portions of the nozzle body and which face fore and aft respectively relative to the direction of movement of the suction trunk.

2. A traveling cleaner as defined in claim 1 and wherein each said floor drag includes a lower floor dragging part, an upper ear part secured to the wall portion of the nozzle, and a horizontal slot receiving the lower edge of the wall portion of the nozzle.

3. For use with a traveling 'cleaner of the type including a depending suction trunk arranged to travel along the side of one or more textile working machines such as spinning frames and the like disposed in a row, the combination with said trunk of a suction intake nozzle located at the lower end of said trunk adjacent the floor for floor sweeping, said nozzle being comprised of a generally cylindrical body of relatively flexible material and substantially the same diameter as said trunk, means securing said nozzle body to the lower end of said trunk, portions of the wall of said cylindrical nozzle body being omitted at opposite sides thereof to form lateral intake openings extending to the bottom of the nozzle, floor drags secured respectively to the remaining wall portions of said nozzle body and which face fore and aft respectively relative to the direction of movement of said trunk, each of said floor drags including a lower floor dragging part, an upper ear part secured to the wall portion of said nozzle body, and a horizontal slot receiving the lower edge of the wall portion of said nozzle body, and a protective sleeve covering said trunk and nozzle body in the vicinity where said nozzle body and trunk are secured together.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,404,889 1/1922 Owen 15420 1,560,612 11/1925 Sims 15-415 X 1,654,186 12/1927 Nulsen 15383 3,001,222 9/1961 Preston 15-312 3,036,325 5/1962 Black 15312 3,045,929 7/1962 McEachern 15-312 X 3,134,128 5/1964 Campbell 15420 WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner. 

3. FOR USE WITH A TRAVELING CLEANER OF THE TYPE INCLUDING A DEPENDING SUCTION TRUNK ARRANGED TO TRAVEL ALONG THE SIDE OF ONE OR MORE TEXTILE WORKING MACHINES SUCH AS SPINNING FRAMES AND THE LIKE DISPOSED IN A ROW, THE COMBINATION WITH SAID TRUNK OF A SUCTION INTAKE NOZZLE LOCATED AT THE LOWER END OF SAID TRUNK ADJACENT THE FLOOR FOR FLOOR SWEEPING, SAID NOZZLE BEING COMPRISED TO A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL BODY OF RELATIVELY FLEXIBLE MATERIAL AND SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME DIAMETER AS SAID TRUNK, MEANS SECURING SAID NOZZLE BODY TO THE LOWER END OF SAID TRUNK, PORTIONS OF THE WALL OF SAID CYLINDRICAL NOZZLE BODY BEING OMITTED AT OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF TO FORM LATERAL INTAKE OPENINGS EXTENDING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE NOZZLE, FLOOR DRAGS SECURED RESPECTIVELY TO THE REMAINING WALL PORTIONS OF SAID NOZZLE BODY AND WHICH FACE FORE AND AFT RESPECTIVELY RELATIVE TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF SAID TRUNK, EACH OF SAID FLOOR DRAGS INCLUDING A LOWER FLOOR DRAGGING PART, AN UPPER EAR PART SECURED TO THE WALL PORTION OF SAID NOZZLE BODY, AND A HORIZONTAL SLOT RECEIVING THE LOWER EDGE OF THE WALL PORTION OF SAID NOZZLE BODY, AND A PROTECTIVE SLEEVE COVERING SAID TRUNK AND NOZZLE BODY IN THE VICINITY WHERE SAID NOZZLE BODY AND TRUNK ARE SECURED TOGETHER. 